NFL 2024 Playoff Race: What to Watch in Week 18 as Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings battle for the No. 1 seed | NFL News

The final week of the 2024 NFL regular season is upon us. The final stretch to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans will determine division titles and playoff seeding. Here’s what to watch in week 18:

NFC No. 1 seed

The NFC race continues into the final day of the regular season while the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs close out the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Minnesota Vikings held off a second-half shutout against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday to win 27-25 and move to 14-2, remaining in the hunt with the Detroit Lions and keeping their hopes of a first-round bye alive. Continuing an incredible season behind comeback quarterback Sam Darnold and Coach of the Year candidate Kevin O’Connell.

Perfectly set for Week 18, when the Vikings and Lions face off once again knowing the winner will secure the No. 1 seed and the other team will advance to a wild-card showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons.

Detroit held on for a 31-29 win in a thriller between NFC North rivals earlier this season as Jared Goff threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns along with two rushing scores from Jahmyr Gibbs to neutralize Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy defense. and won.

Goff’s career resurgence is old news now, as he piloted one of the league’s most prolific and innovative offenses as a member of Detroit’s Super Bowl-winning team after years of injuries. He threw for 4,095 yards and 33 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions while surrounded by explosive young talent in 1,000-yard players Gibbs and Amon-Ra St Brown and the supporting cast of Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta.

Meanwhile, Darnold refused to fade into one of the stories of the season, riding a Geno Smith-like resurgence as he led Minnesota to the playoffs by throwing for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 picks after securing the starting job following J.J. McCarthy’s offseason injury. I did it. . Coming into the postseason, the Vikings felt strained by the departure of Kirk Cousins. Securing the number one seed was unimaginable.

Will Rodgers and Wentz make the final decision?

With the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals competing for the AFC’s final wild card spot, some familiar faces could still play a role in determining the success or failure of the season for all three teams.

The Denver Broncos remain in pole position to secure a playoff spot at 9-7 and currently occupy the No. 7 seed, and they know they will advance if they beat the Chiefs. With nothing to play for, Kansas City is expected to rest its starters considering January, which could mean a certain Carson Wentz will have the final say in the playoff proceedings as Patrick Mahomes’ backup quarterback.

Miami will advance if it can beat Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets, who are 8-8, while the Broncos would lose to the Chiefs. Additionally, the Bengals are 8-8 with a win and loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday evening. Both wild horses and dolphins. If all three teams lose, it will be Denver that takes the final spot.

Anyway, even in the midst of a tough season with the Jets, Rodgers still has a role to play in how the NFL playoff picture is shaped as he resumes his pursuit of his 500th career touchdown pass. And it’s a fun time in the world with the Dolphins and Bengals relying on former Philadelphia Eagles player Wentz.

Who will win the NFC South?

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, only three division titles remain. The Vikings and Lions will be competing for the NFC North, the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers will be fighting for the AFC North, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons will be fighting for NFC South honors.

Oddly enough, in the AFC North, the Ravens might not mind settling for a runner-up finish as they will be in a position to face an unconvincing Houston Texans team they just steamrolled on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, whoever awaits the loser of the final clash between the Vikings and Lions will be the NFC South champion.

Tampa Bay now leads 9-7 after Sunday’s 48-14 win over the Carolina Panthers and saw the Falcons suffer a 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders that left Raheem Morris’ team at 8-8. . The Falcons close out their campaign at home against Bryce Young’s Panthers, while the Bucs welcome Darren Rizzi’s New Orleans Saints to Raymond James Stadium, snapping a three-game skid.

The Bucs would be division champions with a win over the Saints, but a loss in Tampa and a win in Atlanta would see the Falcons snatch the title after dominating individual competition by beating Todd Bowles’ team twice this season.

Who wins NFL MVP?

The NFL’s fierce MVP race is set to continue into the final weekend of the regular season, with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson facing potential competition from Joe Burrow and Saquon Barkley. These appear to be the two front runners.

Allen is unlikely to feature when the Buffalo Bills take on the New England Patriots. It had already helped Sean McDermott lock in the AFC’s No. 2 seed, and Mitchell Trubisky was ready to take his place. He recently became the first player in NFL history to record five consecutive 40-touchdown campaigns after scoring 18 total touchdowns in five games with just one turnover.

Jackson can make his final case for his third career MVP award Saturday night when the Baltimore Ravens face the Cleveland Browns with hopes of snatching the AFC North Division title from Pittsburgh. He arrives in the final week after throwing for 3,955 yards and 39 touchdowns to just four interceptions and having just broken Michael Vick’s record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history by throwing for 852 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Burrow has thrown himself into the conversation with a phenomenal individual season to keep Cincinnati’s slim playoff aspirations alive, winning four straight to go into the final game at 8-8. The former No. 1 overall pick completed a league-high 423 passes for a league-leading 4,641 yards and 42 touchdowns against eight interceptions, earning the league’s best quarterback rating in the process. Can he rescue a campaign that seemed dead in the water?

Who gets the top draft pick?

Not only are the Giants watching Barkley break rushing records against them, but they also face the prospect of missing out on a top pick in the draft. Brian Daboll’s team finally decided to go on offense after holding the No. 1 pick until Week 17, crushing the Indianapolis Colts’ playoff hopes 45-33 and improving to 3-13, but eventually slipping to fourth place. I lost. .

The New England Patriots are currently in first place and will face the Bills in Week 18 after dropping to 3-13 with a 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, while the Tennessee Titans (3-13) are in second place. Brian Callahan’s side is preparing to face the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns three times ahead of their clash with the Ravens.

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are projected to be the top two quarterbacks in the draft, while two-way Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is also expected to be one of the first players off the board.

Saquon chases history… or not.

Saquon Barkley looked like he would challenge history on the final day after reaching Eric Dickerson’s all-time NFL single-season rushing yards record. Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to pass for 2,000 yards in a season, rushing for 167 yards to help the Philadelphia Eagles clinch the NFC East title with a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17.

In doing so, he needed just 101 at-bats in his final game against the New York Giants, surpassing Dickerson’s record of 2,105 that he had held since 1984. But Eagles coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged this week that Barkley is likely one of them. The starting lineup is taking a break ahead of the playoffs.

“It’s a very special record that a great player has maintained for a long time,” Sirianni said. “It’s a team record with everyone involved, so you have to weigh everything.

“But at the end of the day, we’re just trying to do what’s best for the team. Again, I don’t know how the players feel when we say goodbye, we can handle the bumps and bruises. We’ve put ourselves in a position. And we’ve put ourselves in a position.” The goal is to achieve success and perform well in the next match.

“It’s not easy. It wasn’t the easiest decision, but we have great people in this building and we’ve had a lot of input from a lot of different people, including players.”

When do the playoffs start?

Wild Card Weekend runs from Saturday, January 11 to Monday, January 13, and the playoffs advance to the Divisional Round on Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19, with the No. 1 seed from each entering the game after a bye. It works.

Then comes the AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday, January 26, followed by Super Bowl LIX on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

If the season ended today, who would we meet in the playoffs?

Wild Card Weekend:

AFC
Denver Broncos (No 7th seed) @ Buffalo Bills (No. 2)
Los Angeles Chargers (No. 6) @ baltimore ravens (No. 3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (5 times) @ Houston Texans (No. 4)

NFC
green bay packers (No 7th seed) @ Philadelphia Eagles (No. 2)
Washington Commanders (No. 6) @ Los Angeles Rams (No. 3)
Minnesota Vikings (5 times) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 4)